Steamer paper, ribbons, garland and the like are materials often used for party decorations. They generally come in rolls of various widths and lengths, the most common range from less than one inch to 2½ inches wide. Typically, the consumer attaches the end of the decorative material to a structure and manually unravels the material from the roll. To make the decoration more interesting, the roll of streamer paper, ribbon or garland may be twisted to provide a spiral appearance. To further enhance the decorative appearance, the consumer may utilize two rolls of the decorative material of different colors and intertwine them. This operation creates a decorative spiral with alternating colors. The operation of unraveling and twisting one roll of the material requires both hands and can be very awkward and time consuming. The operation of unraveling, intertwining and twisting two rolls is even more awkward, more difficult and considerably more time consuming.
Currently, there are no devices available to assist one in decorating by intertwining and twisting material such as streamer paper, ribbon or garland from rolls. Devices for performing similar functions with wire are known in the art and include U.S. Pat. No. 218,741 to Campbell P. Higgins, which describes a hay bale wire-tying machine; U.S. Pat. No. 397,635 issued to Louis S. Flatau which describes a wire tightening device that takes up slack in and secures wire; U.S. Pat. No. 1,120,575 to John T. Wertz which describes a wire nipper and twister; and U.S. Pat. No. 1,733,148 to Roy C. Buckley et al. which describes a device used for stretching and twisting tie wire by clamping onto the wire. While all these devices may be used for twisting wire, none are adaptable to the operation of intertwining and twisting decorative materials, such as, for example, streamer paper, ribbon or garland.
Another U.S. Pat. No. 2,464,657, to Chester K. Stephenson describes a device for stretching, crimping, and twisting sheet material. This device comprises a pair of parallel bars interconnected at one end on which one end of the material is rolled and a pair of sliding members for crimping the material on the bars. The Stephenson device requires manually rotating the entire set of parallel bars in order to impart a twist in the sheet material. This device is designed for twisting large sheets of material and not adaptable to the operation of intertwining and twisting rolls of decorative materials.
Therefore, there is a need for a decorative material twisting device that provides a simple method for twisting and intertwining streamer paper, ribbon or garland materials from rolls.